The Philadelphia Eagles started their season with a win over the Dallas Cowboys. It wasn't pretty, but the Birds are 1-0. Here are 5 takeaways from a tumultuous night at the Linc.
CB2 is still an issue for the Eagles
The fact that nobody truly won the CB2 battle was a concern, but Thursday night validated it and then some. Adoree Jackson (for some reason) ended up facing CeeDee Lamb for a chunk of snaps and in total, gave up 5 catches on 7 targets (it should've been 6), for 103 yards and a PI.
That's not good enough. The Eagles did transition to Jakorian Bennett for a brief second, but even he gave up 3 catches on 3 targets.
Kelee Ringo, anyone?
The Eagles are going to need to fix this. Whether it's trialling Cooper DeJean outside and giving the more 'sheltered' role to one of the other boundary corners, calling for external reinforcement, or rightfully giving their youngest candidate and draft pick, Ringo, time to grow into those shoes. Either way, this was a glaring weakness coming off of week 1.
Jalen Hurts looked great
Jalen Hurts was hardly Lamar Jackson last year when it came to running the football. In fact, he looked much more comfortable in the pocket and only ran when neccesary. We saw a more aggressive quarterback on Thursday night. Someone who took what the defense game him, didn't overcomplicate things, and turned on the after-burners when appropriate, sliding at the perfect times.
This was someone who was unafraid to air it out (shoutout the rogue Jahan Dotson catch), but safe with the ball in a tightly contested game. The offense moved quick when it needed a response, and slower when they needed to control tempo.
You can make comments about A.J and Smitty not getting targeted, but if the pass isn't there, don't risk it. Hurts was exceptionally disciplined in Thursday night and that was a huge factor in them winning this game.
The wideouts
Let's talk wideouts for a moment. Are you mad that A.J and Smitty combined for 24 total receiving yards because they didn't cash your betslips? Or because it's indicative of a bigger issue? If it's the latter, what's the problem?
The Eagles put up over 150 rushing yards, were 8/13 on third down, and dominated time of possession. We've heard for a long time that this team doesn't care how they win, just that they do. Both star wideouts have been paid meaty contracts. They're Super Bowl champions. Their team won the game. We are so far past the point of 'diva' wide receivers with this franchise, that the thought never even crossed my mind.
Sure, it's frustrating. And if it's sustained 3 weeks from now, we can start asking questions. But the beauty of this offense is if you lock one part down, another opens up. If the Eagles don't fancy slinging 40-yard passes every drive for fun like they did against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, that's their choice. As long as they win, it doesn't matter if A.J has 500 yards per game or 5.
Kevin Patullo's impact
When grading Kevin Patullo's first game as the head of the Eagles' offense, it's naturally going to be split. The second half was sloppy, as it was for both teams dealing with a long rain delay. But the creativity was there. A reverse pitch for Saquon Barkley? Will Shipley having a stint of looking like an NFL starter? Dallas Goedert rolling back the years? A deep shot to Jahan Dotson? Tick those boxes.
It wasn't finesse. It wasn't sexy. The second half left a lot to be desired. But it got the job done. In comparison to a not-too distant memory where we were debating if Nick Sirianni should even be calling pays, begging him to run the ball, or even last year where the Birds looked ill-prepared in week 1 against Green Bay, I'd say this is a pretty strong start.
Jalen Carter's ejection
I think we can all agree what Jalen Carter did last night was despicable. Regardless of whether he was aggravated or not, risking a penalty/ejection and hurting the team is a boneheaded decision. At some point, he has to learn that he is the most valuable player on that defense, and he's at a level now where opposing teams will do anything they can to nullify that advantage. Being the bigger person and letting the play do the talking has to really be fundamental for a player of his caliber.
Did the spit require an ejection? I don't think so. But if the ref has only seen the latter part of the interaction, I can get why the flag was thrown. We can argue until the Cows come home about whether or not it was worthy of an ejection, but hopefully, can all agree that Carter needs to use this as a crucial learning block. He can't jeopardize his teams' success by falling victim to mind games, or letting emotions get the better of him.
